Private Project

Come Together

"Come together" is a story of an encounter between two people who haven't seen each other for 65 years, during which they've constantly exchanged letters.

  • Marija Strajnić
    Director
  • Marija Strajnić
    Writer
  • Marija Strajnić
    Producer
  • Jelena Strajnić
    Key Cast
  • Dragutin Cvijanović (In Memoriam)
    Key Cast
  • Marija Strajnić
    Key Cast
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Susret
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Genres:
    romance, poetry
  • Runtime:
    36 minutes 43 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 1, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    9,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Serbia
  • Country of Filming:
    Croatia, Serbia
  • Language:
    Croatian, Serbian
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Beldocs Festival
    Belgrade
    Serbia
    September 5, 2020
    World Premiere
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Marija Strajnić

Marija Strajnic (33) was born in Belgrade. She graduated from the Faculty of Architecture (2010) where she also worked as a collaborator (2008- 2014).

Marija represented Serbia at the Venice Biennale of Architecture (2012). She founded the architectural studio Maj (2014). She enrolled in doctoral studies in Brussels and founded production house Kino Š (2017) and illustration brand Lovers.rs (2018).

In addition, Maria is involved in photography. She has published 3 photo books with her photo narratives: Fifth Element (Serbia, 2012), Lit (Australia, 2014) and A Chord (Taiwan, 2015). Fourth photo book called Auto-Sculptures is scheduled for spring of 2020. Marija has been published by magazines such as Dazed and Confused, Neon, Elle, Vice, Pig, Intro, Esquire ... She has participated in numerous photography exhibitions, such as the DustAndSkratches exhibition at Moscow's MOMA, as well as the London exhibition with the SelfPublishBeHappy collective. Her first solo-exhibition will be taking place in June of 2020, in U10 gallery in Belgrade.

Film Come Together (original title Susret) is Marija's debut film, which was supported by the Film Center of Serbia in the competition for Co-financing the production of short documentaries.

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Director Statement

Film "Come Together" shows the potential of art to connect people, overcome obstacles, create relationships, beyond time and space; to preserve emotions through a life in which a physical encounter has almost never happened.

A state of presence in absence that lasts for almost a lifetime has created a poetic confrontation between two protagonists, which evolved from early-on romantic expectations to almost legitimizing their own life paths.

Belgrade-Zagreb relation changed a lot during their lifetime, sometimes even the most careless correspondence wasn't possible, but the emotional relationship based on the beauty of the written word still managed to maintain itself.

Main conflict of the film lays in the lifelong avoidance of physical confrontation of two people. I wanted to investigate if their platonic relationship was due to social circumstances along the lines of Serbia - Croatia, or attachment to their families, or fear of where physical presence might take them, or perhaps the self-sufficiency of art as a medium of communication. All of these potential causes have made a very special aura of their relationship, which has established itself through poetry and survived 65 years.